A coalition of UK festivals, bought together by the 10:10 campaign and specialists Julie’s Bicycle, are implementing a carbon reduction programme which will see each event cut its own carbon footprint by 10%.

“British summertime wouldn’t be the same without music festivals and we feel privileged to be working with some of the very best this year”, says Eugenie Harvey, director of 10:10.  

“Music festivals in the UK have been making huge efforts to reduce their environmental impacts and Julie's Bicycle is really pleased to provide practical support which will help them fulfil their 10% reduction ambitions. 10:10 is an ideal campaign for festival-goers to sign up to, and we hope there will be plenty more summer pledges” said Alison Tickell, director of Julie’s Bicycle.

The 10:10 Festival Programme

10:10 is a dramatically different carbon reduction campaign that works with individuals, businesses and organisations ranging from hospitals to councils to schools. Julie's Bicycle is working alongside the 10:10 campaign to help festivals identify and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the 10:10 festival programme, event organisers will seek to reduce carbon emissions from onsite energy use, waste and water consumption.

On-site energy use.

This covers all the gas, electricity, diesel, propane and butane that it takes to light up the stages, pump music from the speakers and power the refreshment stands. A large festival can emit hundreds of tonnes of CO2 just from energy demands, however festivals are combating this by switching to cleaner sources of energy, efficient lighting, and in the case of the Isle of Wight, an entirely solar-powered stage.Latitude, Reading and Leeds festivals have continuously increased the use of biofuel such as waste vegetable oil.

Waste reduction

Festival-goers leave behind hundreds of tonnes of waste, much of which ends up as landfill. This ranges from small items like cigarette butts and used cups, to costumes and entire tents. On-site waste separation and recycling is crucial to minimising emissions from landfill. Lovebox has committed to having 100% recyclable or biodegradable drink vessels in 2010, and Bestival sends recycled goods to a nearby gasification plant to be turned into electricity. All cups and cutleries sold at Latitude, Reading and Leeds arenas are either recycled or composted. Reading and Leeds work with several charities to prevent tonnes of re-usable goods from going to waste, even broken tent fabric can find a new life as a jacket or a bag!

Water consumption

This covers the emissions of providing water for flushing toilets and treating sewage, along with public showers, drinking water facilities and concession use. Water can also become contaminated with chemicals used for sewage treatment and cleaning, which then must be treated again after the event (resulting in further emissions). Composting toilets, such as those used at Bestival, reduce water and chemical usage.  

10:10 and Julie’s Bicycle are also supporting festivals in promoting transport alternatives such as life sharing and public transport.

For further information check out the festival section of the 10:10 website:

http://www.1010global.org/uk/festivals